xmonad is a tiling window manager for X. Windows are arranged automatically to tile the screen without gaps or overlap, maximizing screen use. Window manager features are accessible from the keyboard: a mouse is optional.

xmonad is written, configured and extensible in Haskell. Custom layout algorithms, key bindings and other extensions may be written by the user in config files.

Layouts are applied dynamically, and different layouts may be used on each workspace. Xinerama is fully supported, allowing windows to be tiled on several physical screens.

Installation

xmonad and xmonad-contrib is currently available in the community repo. A build for the current development snapshot (darcs) is in the aur. The following instructions are for xmonad-darcs, the development snapshot.

Development version (xmonad-darcs)

The xmonad-darcs development version can be installed from the AUR, with some additional dependencies in [community]. Install them in the following order:

Configuration

Starting xmonad

To start xmonad automatically, simply add the command exec xmonad to your startup script (e.g. ~/.xinitrc). GDM and KDM users can create a new session file and then select xmonad from the appropriate Session menu.

Recently, users in #xmonad have stated that the exec is not required; simply adding xmonad as the last line in your startup script is the proper way to start this WM. Please use whichever method works for you. If using ck-launch-session, the exec is probably still required.

Note: By default, xmonad does not set an X cursor, therefore the "cross" cursor is usually displayed which can be confusing for new users (thinking that xmonad has not launched correctly). To set the expected left-pointer, add the following to your startup file (e.g. ~/.xinitrc):

xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr

Also, xmonad defaults to the U.S. keyboard layout, so if you want e. g. the German one, add:

If for some reason XMonad doesn't start, check if you have an .xmonad dir in your home dir else create it

mkdir ~/.xmonad

Configuring xmonad

xmonad users can modify, override or extend the default settings with the ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs configuration file. Recompiling is done on the fly, with the Mod+q shortcut.

If you find you do not have a directory at ~/.xmonad, run xmonad --recompile to create it.

The "default config" for xmonad is quite usuable and it is achieved by simply running without an xmonad.hs entirely. Therefore, even after you run --recompile you will most likely not have an ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs file. If you would like to start tweaking things, simply create the file and edit it as described below.

Because the xmonad configuration file is written in Haskell, non-programmers may have a difficult time adjusting settings. For detailed HOWTO's and example configs, we refer you to the following resources:

This simply overrides the default terminal and borderwidth while leaving all other settings at their defaults (inherited from the function defaultConfig).

As things get more complicated, it can be handy to call configuration options by function name inside the main function, and define these separately in their own sections of your xmonad.hs. This makes large customizations like your layout and manage hooks easier to visualize and maintain.

If you ever want to toggle the gaps, this action can be added to your key bindings:

,((modMask x, xK_b ), sendMessage ToggleStruts)

Using xmobar with xmonad

xmobar is a light and minimalistic text based bar, designed to work with xmonad.
To use xmobar with xmonad, you will need two packages in addition to the xmonad package, these are xmonad-contrib from [community] and xmobar or xmobar-darcs from aur.

Here we will start xmobar from within xmonad, which reloads xmobar whenever you reload xmonad.

Open up ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs in your favorite editor, and choose one of the two following options:

Option 1: Quick, less flexible

Note: there is also a dzen which you can substitute for xmobar in either case.

Controlling xmonad with external scripts

Although there is no direct way to interact with xmonad via scripts, you can simulate keypress events using xdotool or other such programs, see this Ubuntu forums thread. This command would simulate the keypress "Super+n":

xdotool key Super+n

Launching another window manager within xmonad

If you are using xmonad darcs, as of January of 2011, you can restart to another window manager from within xmonad. You just need to write a small script, and add stuff to your xmonad.hs. Here is the script.

Just remember to add a comma before or after and change the path to your actual script path.Now just mod-q (restart xmonad to refresh the config), and than hit mod-shift-o and you should have openbox running with the same windows open as in xmonad. To return to xmonad you should just exit openbox. Here is a link to adamvo's xmonad.hs which uses this setup Adamvo's Xmonad.hs

Missing xmonad-i386-linux

Xmonad should automatically create the xmonad-i386-linux file (in $HOME/.xmonad/). If this it not the case you can grab a cool looking config file from the xmonad wiki or create your own. Put the .hs and all others files in .xmonad/ and run the command from the folder:

xmonad --recompile

Now you should see the file.

Problems with Java applications

The standard Java gui toolkit has a hardcoded list of "non-reparenting" window managers. Since XMonad is not in that list, there can be some problems with running some java applications. One of the most common problems is "grey blobs", when the java application renders as a plain grey box instead of rendering the gui.

There is several thing that can help:

If you are using openjdk6, you can export _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 .

If you are using Sun JRE/JDK, the best solution is usually to use SetWMName. However, its effect may be nullified if one also uses XMonad.Hooks.EwmhDesktops, in which case